PlayStation 4

It’s probably a testament to Sony’s successes with the PlayStation 4 that the length of the system’s record function sparked a bit of a heated debate today. Speaking at the Develop conference earlier this month, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s head of research and development Mark Brown said that the console could store the last “several minutes” of gameplay. Of course, the word 'several' sounds a lot like 'seven', which was the story doing the rounds this afternoon.

Whether or not the executive misspoke – which seems to be the case – the comments created confusion. Previously, the platform holder revealed that the system could capture 15 minutes of gameplay – something that was proven by Killzone: Shadow Fall’s unveiling during the PlayStation Meeting earlier in the year. But Brown’s speech seemed to contrast that, prompting some speculation that the feature had been watered down prior to release.

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However, speaking with CVG, a Sony spokesperson clarified that the console will record 15 minutes of gameplay, just as initially reported. You can pull up that footage at any time by pushing the Share button, and instantly broadcast it across various social networks. Partners haven’t been confirmed just yet, but we already know that Facebook and YouTube are almost certainly in.

The discussion was brought to the forefront in the wake of comments by Microsoft that confirmed that the Xbox One will capture just five minutes of gameplay, resulting in much shorter clips. It’s hardly a system selling advantage, but it’s yet another number that the Japanese giant can boast about in its promotional materials. And that’s a good thing, we guess.

[source computerandvideogames.com, via eurogamer.net, twitter.com]